For much of the past few decades, the early stages of a career followed a familiar pattern. Graduates joined large organisations, learned routine processes, and slowly worked their way up. That first rung, built around junior and entry-level roles, is now thinning. Automation, artificial intelligence, and tighter hiring have changed how companies think about beginners.It is against this backdrop that Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor and entrepreneur, offered a simple piece of advice to new graduates this week. Look smaller.In a post on X, Cuban said graduates should focus their job search on small and medium-sized businesses rather than large corporations.
His reasoning was practical. That is where, he argued, new graduates can add the most immediate value.Large firms, Cuban wrote, do not need graduates to experiment with new tools or redesign internal processes. Smaller, entrepreneurial companies often do. They lack time, staff, or money to rebuild systems that are still run manually. This gap, he suggested, is where young workers can be useful from day one.
Why AI changes where beginners fit
Cuban’s argument centres on AI agents. These are software systems that can carry out tasks autonomously, from start to finish, without constant prompts from users.According to Cuban, graduates who understand how to deploy these agents can help companies streamline work that was previously too slow or costly to automate.“Entrepreneurial companies will love the value you add,” he wrote, contrasting them with larger firms that already have dedicated teams and mature systems.The broader corporate landscape supports this view. A study of more than 400 companies by software engineering management service Jellyfish found that adoption of agentic artificial intelligence rose from 50% in December 2024 to 82% by May this year.Industry leaders have echoed this shift. Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, said in January that the “age of agentic AI” had arrived. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has compared AI agents to junior employees.Financial institutions are also betting on their impact. Morgan Stanley said in a note published in November that it expects AI-powered shopping agents to add $115 billion to the United States e-commerce market by 2030.
A tighter market for first jobs
Cuban’s comments come at a difficult moment for graduates. Entry-level roles, once plentiful, are becoming harder to secure.Data from California-based employment platform Handshake shows that job postings on its site fell by 15% compared to the previous year, while applications per posting rose by 30%. Competition has increased, even as opportunities shrink.Handshake’s data also hints at a shift already under way. More than one-third of full-time applications from new graduates went to companies with 250 employees or fewer. Whether by choice or necessity, graduates are already looking beyond large employers.
What smaller firms are offering in return
Smaller companies, for their part, are adjusting how they recruit. Workplace researchers told Business Insider that these firms are using flexible working arrangements to attract Gen Z graduates. Remote and hybrid options, once associated with larger employers, are becoming a competitive tool for smaller businesses.This matters because flexibility is not a side benefit for many graduates. It affects where they can live, how they manage costs, and whether work fits alongside other responsibilities.
A different starting point
Cuban’s advice does not promise security or fast growth. Small companies can be volatile, and not all have the resources to support learning. But his argument reflects a broader change. As AI absorbs routine tasks, the traditional entry-level role is no longer guaranteed.For graduates entering the labour market now, the question is less about prestige and more about usefulness. In a world where the first rung of the career ladder is thinner, Cuban suggests starting where skills can be applied immediately, even if the organisation itself is small.
It is a quieter way into work. But in a shrinking entry-level market, quiet may be where opportunity now sits.